Chapter 7 Leila

I was still locked up in my room, but it wasn't because I was sad, but because I was ashamed of facing my friends who thought so high of me.

They kept my food in front of the door as usual before going for class and I returned it whenever I was done. They also do the same whenever they get back from classes.

I still haven't spoken to anyone including my parents but I guess they were too busy taking care of business to notice that their only child who calls them daily hasn't done so in three consecutive days.

Shawn on the other hand came around once but I didn't open the door. He probably thought I was throwing a tantrum over something I wanted. Because he kept asking what it was that I wanted but didn't get. He left after threatening to break down the door if I didn't open it.

I made up my mind to go out today, locking myself in wouldn't bring a solution and besides, I missed talking to my friends.

My friends all looked at me as if they'd seen a ghost when I came out. If I wasn't fighting embarrassment, I would've laughed at their faces.

"Are you okay now?" Naomi asked.

I shook my head and in a moment they were all around me which even brought more tears to my eyes.

"I'm pregnant." I whispered, but I guessed they heard because their body became still.

Riley wasn't surprised, of course she already knew about it.

Nobody said anything after that but kept looking at me which made me anxious.

"What if they hate me? What if they called me names?" I thought.

"Say something." I begged.

Riley rubbed her hands on my back and nodded in encouragement like she was proud of me for telling the truth. At least one person wasn't against me.

"I'm sorry Leila...... I'm just shocked. You were a virgin." Alex pointed out.

"I'm sure Shawn is going to accept it since it's his." Regina said.

Just like that, the gate of tears was unlocked again because I knew fully well that it wasn't his. Regina sighed because she knew she had said something she shouldn't have.

"It's not his." I choked out.

They wanted to start bombarding me with questions but Alex just shook her head telling them not to.

"It was that night we all went to the club." I began, at least I could still remember that part.

Telling a story you could barely remember but played a major role in your life wasn't a great story to tell.

"I don't remember what really happened that night, but when I woke up the next morning I was naked under the blanket and I was alone." I explained.

"Was there anything in the room that could give away the identity of the person?" Regina asked.

"Yes, maybe like a card or did he by chance tell you his name?" Naomi asked.

If the 'J' written at the end of the note I found means a name, then probably his name is J but I know it wasn't.

"Nothing." I lied.

They didn't say anything about the pregnancy which made me even more confused. Did they hear when I said I was pregnant or they were just pretending not to have heard.

"Did you all hear anything I said?" I asked.

"That you're pregnant? Of course we did, but we can't judge you when it was partly our fault." Alex said.

She shifted comfortably on the couch before adding. "If we had paid more attention to you since it was your first time."

"Thank you."

I wasn't telling them thank you because she was taking the blame for what happened. Instead, I was telling them thank you for not coming on to me about how much of a disgrace I was by getting myself pregnant.

After a while, I became tired. All the emotional talks were wearing me out.

"You should rest a little, you look tired." Riley said, and she was right.

"Okay."

"We'll figure something out later." Naomi said.

"Can you not tell Shawn about this?" I begged, and they all nodded.

Soon enough, I was left alone and it got me thinking about a lot of things.

I was not ready for a responsibility yet, and even though my friends were supportive they were not my parents. I just needed them to be on my side.

Finally, the long awaited call came in from my parents which got my heart beating faster than usual.

"Hello mom." I greeted after a while.

"Is everything okay, we haven't heard from you. Are you fine? Did you fight with Shawn?" My mom asked.

"Even if you did, I'm sure you'll settle it, right?" I heard my dad say.

"We're fine Dad, I'm just tired." I lied.

Day by day, it became easier to tell a lie. I didn't know what I was more scared of.... was it being laughed at for getting pregnant for a stranger or my parents probably wanting nothing to do with me when they found out.

I was convinced that my life was over at this point and the so called father was out there enjoying himself with other ladies like myself who were stupid enough to get drunk.

My parents advised me to make up with Shawn if we had issues. Though they didn't say it directly, they reminded me to remain with Shawn which was going to be good for their business.

"Bye ma, I'll try to call you again." I told her.

My conversation with my parents was always like that, as if they didn't know how to have any other conversations with me. I don't even expect anything from them anymore because they seem to be living in a world of their own.

I fell asleep still thinking about everything in general, my parents, my friends and the baby's father.

Apart from the baby's father whom I didn't know, they all claim to love me but are they willing to stand the test of time with me? Well, only one way to find out......